Memory Keeping

Hello friends. Today was a brisk but sunny New England day. I actually like these kind of days-they wake me up. If I get sleepy at work, I just walk through a hall where I need to go outside and I am instantly awake. Fresh, cold air will do that to you.

Today I thought I would share a few scrapbook pages with you. I rarely share them as Charlotte does not like me to upload them to my blog for some reason. She is at the self conscious age of 14 and thinks all photos of her are hideous.

I tend to scrap what I like and not chronologically. This is one reason I have never gotten into Project Life or done a December Daily album. Right now, Char is at an age where she dislikes having her photo taken so she rarely lets me take her picture. If she does, she is making a face or not looking at the camera. My life is not one that I would chronicle, either. It is rather boring and the day to day stuff is just not that interesting. Instead, I have been busy scrapping Charlotte's earlier photos because she was so much nicer to be around then. (Did I just write that?)

(Page Supplies)

I have kind of developed "my style" over the years, which seems like it is everyone's style lately. I like paper layering and some embellishments but not a ton. I also like misting and have been adding more of my own writing to my pages. My mother died when I was 23 and I only have a few pieces of her writing. I cherish that. I figure that when I am gone, Charlotte might too.

 (Page Supplies)

Sometimes I use pre-made die cuts that are meant for a collection. Sometimes I choose to use my Big Shot and dies, as well as pre-made embellishments for a page. It all depends on what mood I am in. I mix supplies from companies and do not really have a favorite. I am a paper hoarder and have a supply that could last me YEARS.

(Page Supplies)

I love the feel of paper and cutting it up into pieces or different shapes. I do not ever think I could get into digital scrapbooking, though I do love printable products. I feel like a kid again, playing with punches or adhering a sticker.

(Page Supplies)

I am hoping that as Charlotte gets older, she appreciates the gift I have given her by documenting her life this way.

I appreciate you taking the time to stop by my blog today. I hope you enjoyed the small glimpse into my creative process.

A Saturday CASE from Simon Says Stamp

Well this week went by fast and I have to admit, I am very happy about that. I hosted a baby shower for my friend at work and spent a TON of time getting ready for it. Can you say CLEAN? My house was a bit of a mess and I even went so far as to organize a few closets. It helped that I deep cleaned a few of the rooms over vacation but I still had a lot to do.

I also baked...a lot. I had a few mishaps with some recipes. I actually tried a cupcake recipe from Pinterest that sounded better then it tasted. In fact, the cupcakes were gross. The frosting to go with it wasn't so hot either. I even put less peppermint extract in that was called for and it was still too minty. It was a disappointment. Then, I burned a big batch of caramel that I was making to fill yet another set of cupcakes that actually came out delicious. It wasn't good. It was better then burning myself, though, which is why the darn thing burned in the first place! Lets just say that I did not make another batch.

To top the week off, I got pink eye. Yes, I work with kids but NO ONE has pink eye right now. How the heck did I get it? My eye hurt like the dickens by the time the shower ended yesterday. My husband picked up the medicine that was called in that my MD said to "only use if you have tried hot compresses for a couple days first." What? Nope. I used the medicine and my eye feels 50% better today. I am hoping for 100% by the time I go back to work on Monday.

The shower went off without a hitch and "I think" my friend had fun. That is all that matters in the end. My only regret? I didn't get a photo of the card I created for her!!! What was I thinking?

Anyway...I did get to make a card at the beginning of this week full of mishaps that made me very happy. It was a CASE of a Shari Carroll card from Simon Says Stamp. However, I did not have the EXACT same stamps or the colors that she used so I improvised.

On my card, I used Hero Arts "It's All Good" stamp set for the stamps and My Favorite Things "Celebratory Greetings" die-namics for the greeting. The card below is the card I CASEd.

(Link to Simon Says Stamp Blog Post)

Shari's card just made me so happy. The colors were bright and just shouted spring to me. I am kind of hankering for warmer weather right now so it was a fun card to copy.

Instead of mounting my card front on white, I chose to make it a bit smaller and mount it on a gray card base. I then used various color sequins to match the inks and sprinkled them around in random way.

I like how this card came out. I think that I would die cut the sentiment out of white paper next time like the inspiration card. I think the coral is a bit bright and does not match my stamp pad exactly. That kind of bugs me!!

I hope you are having a fabulous weekend and keeping warm. It is a bit nippy out there!! Thanks for stopping by!!

Supplies:

Daffodil Delight-Stampin Up!

InLinkz.com

With Sympathy

Happy Tuesday!! I hope 2015 is bringing you some joy.

I am back at work after a fabulous 10 days off. I am so refreshed and thank God for the vacation that I get at Christmas time. It is a blessing.

Now I am getting ready to host a baby shower on Friday for someone at work. I am NOT much of an entertainer, so this is a big thing for me. I am not a decorator either, (though you would think I would be because I like to craft) so having people at my house to "show it off" is very intimidating. I am all for conquering my fears (of judgement) so I decided to volunteer to have it here. That and I LOVE my co-worker who is having the baby and totally happy to celebrate with her. Hopefully I will be able to get some good photos of the party that I can post this weekend.

Today I am sharing with you two sympathy cards I created. As I was cleaning my desk up last week, I decided to do a "make a card from the supplies on my desk" challenge. I had stamped these images using Distress Markers and then used a wet paint brush over them to get a watercolor effect. Then the cards sat and I never did anything with them, as is often the case. I decided they would make decent sympathy cards.

Such a simple card using "Penelope's Blossom" stamps from Lawn Fawn. I used an MFT Blueprints die to cut out the watercolor paper and mounted it on a Royal Velvet card.

To finish, I used Stickles to add some sparkle to the center of the flowers. I think this came out so pretty!!

For the second card, I die cut the watercolor panel with a Mama Elephant die and layered it over a piece of patterned paper that was cut with the companion die in the set.

I used Stickles on this card for the middle of the red and orange flowers, as well as used a clear Wink of Stella over the yellow roses. It is hard to see from the photo but I tried!!

This technique is so much fun to do and it looks like I actually water colored these pieces. I think I might make a few for myself to frame.

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you have a great night!!

Supplies:

Paper-140lb Watercolor paper, Pebbles-"Rouge Mini Dot," Stampin Up! "Old Olive," and Paper Trey Ink "Royal Velvet"

Stamps-Lawn Fawn-"Penelope's Blossoms," Paper Trey Ink-sentiment

Dies-Mama Elephant and My Favorite Things

Other-Big Shot Machine, Ranger Distress Markers, Stickles, Gray Ink, paint brush

Make It Monday #195 A la Carte Challenge-Camouflaging Die-Cuts #193

Happy Sunday!! It is back to work tomorrow. The vacation flew by and has been just what I needed. This week will be busy with getting ready for a baby shower that is being held at my house in honor of a co-worker. I have a lot of cooking to do!

Today I am sharing a card I created for Paper Trey Ink's "Make It Monday #195 A la Carte Challenge." The challenge was to use one of this year's many videos to create a card. I chose the "Camouflaging Die-Cuts #193" as the inspiration for my card.

In Laura's video, she used ink for her camouflage. I chose to use ink AND stamping to create my card. This card was actually an evolution of sorts. I attempted to use "Enchanted Evening," "Spring Rain," and "Blueberry Sky" inks to create the shading but I just could not get the look I wanted with just the inks. I then decided that I would use Paper Trey Ink's "Ombre Builders" stamp set to stamp a pattern over the shaded ink. I think this was the right choice!!

I also used Wink of Stella clear pen over the die cut word. It is hard to see this in the photo but in real life, it makes the word pop a little off the card.

That is all for today. Thank you for stopping by!!

Supplies:
Paper-Paper Trey Ink-White
Inks-Paper Trey Ink "Spring Rain," "Enchanted Evening" and "Blueberry Sky."
Die-Paper Trey Ink-Banner Die, Mama Elephant "Happy" and Lil' Inkers Stitched Rectangle
Stamps-Paper Trey Ink-"Ombre Builders," Mama Elephant "Happy Everything"
Other-Sequins, Wink of Stella Clear Pen, Glue Dots, Foam Adhesive, Sizzix Big Shot Machine

Mojo Monday Challenge #378

It is Friday, my last official day of vacation. The time has FLOWN by and been so relaxing. One of the things that I was able to do over vacation was to see a lot of movies. I saw "Unbroken" and "Wild" at the movie theatre and watched "Delivery Man," "Sex Tape," and "Lone Survivor" on TV. I have an eclectic taste in movies, don't I?

Today I am sharing a card I created using the sketch #378 from the "Mojo Monday Challenge Blog."

I used Ranger Distress Markers to ink up the flower stamps from Lawn Fawn's "Penelope's Blossoms" stamp set and the vase from Lawn Fawn's "Our Friendship Grows" stamp set to create the vase with the flowers. After they were stamped, I took a wet water color brush and brushed over them to give them a water colored effect.

After the flowers were dry, I added some Stickles to the middle of the pink flowers and Clear Wink of Stella over the purple to the make the images sparkle.

I then used the sketch below for the rest of my card.

I did not do a tall and skinny card but adapted it to a regular 4 1/4" by 5 1/2" card size. The papers were all scraps that I had in my scrap bin.

Thank you for looking!! Have a great day!!

Supplies:
Paper-Watercolor, Bazzill (light purple), Fancy Pants (gray striped) and Stampin Up! (purple card)
Stamps-Lawn Fawn "Penelope's Blossoms" and "Our Friendship Grows"
Dies-My Favorite Things-"Fishtail Flags Stax," "Pierced Circle Stax," and "Pinking Edge Circle Stax." Paper Trey Ink-Stitch die
Other: Big Shot, Distress Markers, adhesive foam, Raspberry Stickles, Wink of Stella Clear Pen